Who’s behind anti-Muslim campaign mailers targeting these North Texas state House races?
North Texas lawmakers seeking reelection to the Texas House of Representatives are being targeted with anti-Muslim mailers.
Versions of the mailers, sent by the Texas Family Project, have gone out in at least three North Texas races, criticizing Republican incumbents Rep. Stephanie Klick, Rep. Glenn Rogers and Rep. Lynn Stucky for votes commemorating Ramadan and Eid al-Fitr.
“We don’t want Sharia law in Texas,” the mailers read, questioning why the representative is “voting to celebrate Texas Muslims.”
The mailers that went out in Rogers and Klick’s races ask voters: “Do you want your tax dollars going to celebrate Muslim holidays?”
The version in Stucky’s race states, “Did you vote for the most Muslim session in Texas history?”
Rep. Salman Bhojani, a Euless Democrat, called the mailers “unfortunate and unacceptable” in an interview with the Star-Telegram. He was an author on the resolutions referenced on the mailers and serves as the first Muslim member of the Texas House, along with Rep. Suleman Lalani, a Sugar Land Democrat.
The mailers don’t represent the views of the majority of Texans, Bhojani said.
“This is a small minority of folks that are spreading bigotry I think, unfortunately,” he said. “This is not the Texas that I know.”
Lawmakers have also taken up resolutions recognizing other religions and their holidays.
”We come from all different walks of life. We come in all different shapes and sizes and colors and religious backgrounds and ideologies, and that’s what’s beautiful about Texas: That we can coexist together, and we should respect each other for that,” Bhojani said.
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Texas Family Project’s President Brady Gray did not return an email and phone message requesting comment. Gray also chairs the Parker County Republican Party.
Gray previously worked as chief executive officer of Pale Horse Strategies from March 2022 to June 2023, according to his LinkedIn profile. Pale Horse Strategies, a conservative consulting firm, came under fire in October the Texas Tribune reported that its leader Jonathan Stickland, a former Bedford state representative, met with white supremacist Nick Fuentes.
Stickland also served as president of Defend Texas Liberty PAC. Conservative political consultant Luke Macias is now listed as president of the group on its website.
Klick, Rogers and Stucky joined the majority of lawmakers in supporting the recognition of Ramadan and Eid al-Fitr. The mailer says the lawmakers also voted to recognize March 7 as Texas Muslim Capitol Day. Stucky was recorded as voting against the resolution.
Versions of the mailers are going out beyond North Texas. The Houston Chronicle reported that the mailers messages were going out in races in the Houston, San Antonio and Austin areas. Similar text messages were also sent, the newspaper reported.
Rogers was not available for an interview Wednesday.
Stucky, in an interview with the Star-Telegram, noted that resolutions are not laws. The House regularly takes up resolutions honoring people or groups, like the ones recognizing Ramadan, Eid al-Fitr and Texas Muslim Capitol Day.
“We’re the mixing vat of the world,” Stucky said. “A lot of people came to the United States for religious freedom. I’m a conservative Christian, but I understand about religious freedom.”
He continued: “You don’t bring somebody Christianity by forcing it down their throat. You do it by being an example and showing them that it’s a great life, and there’s a reason for it.”
He and Klick noted Texas Family Project’s ties to people associated with the Fuentes meeting.
“After bankrolling my opponent’s campaign last cycle, this same crowd was caught plotting with holocaust deniers who praised Hitler and defended domestic assault,” Klick said in a statement. “While their lies about me are sickening, their allies are much worse. With the support of Gov Abbott, the NRA, and numerous conservatives across the district we will beat back their hateful tactics once again and continue delivering conservative results for Tarrant County.”
